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2 days ago

Israel-Gaza ceasefire live: Truce deal ‘on the brink’ as Hamas ‘waiting for troop withdrawal maps’

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip whilst Israel insists details are still being finalised

Alexander Butler,Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Wednesday 15 January 2025 12:39 GMT
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Related: Celebratory gunshots in Beirut after Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire brokered

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A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is “right on the brink” as the far-right has threatened to block the deal.

Negotiations are in their final stage, with mediators hopeful the tense talks would lead “very soon to an agreement”.

“I believe we will get a ceasefire,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said. “It’s right on the brink. It’s closer than it’s ever been before.”

The truce would see the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza and the Israeli military’s complete withdrawal from the besieged region.

However, a Hamas source has claimed the Palestinian group had not yet delivered its response because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how it would leave Gaza.

Meanwhile, far-right Israeli minister Ben Gvir revealed he has repeatedly blocked ceasefire deals over the last year and urged finance minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him in halting the new agreement.

The first stage of the deal would see 33 hostages set free, including children, women – including some female soldiers – men above 50, and the wounded and sick, an Israeli official said.

3 days ago

Everything we know about the draft ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas

A ceasefire deal for Gaza is said to be the closest it has been for months – with a truce also allowing the freeing of hostages still held by Hamas.

Hamas killed around 1,200 people in a terror attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and abducted another 250. Some 100 Israelis are still being held captive inside the Gaza Strip, and the military believes at least a third of them are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants.

A week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes over from President Joe Biden, officials said a breakthrough had been achieved in talks in Doha and agreement could be near.

Barney Davis covers everything we know about the draft deal:

Everything we know about the proposed Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal

A deal to end the conflict is said to be close

Alex Croft15 January 2025 07:00
3 days ago

Trump’s inauguration factor in closing Gaza ceasefire deal, says ex-diplomat

US president-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration has been a major factor in closing the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, a former Israeli diplomat told CNN.

Secretary of state Antony Blinken has said the truce deal was “closer than it’s ever been before” after Hamas reportedly accepted the ceasefire draft to release the hostages.

“The tragic thing is… this deal was there for the taking for months,” said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York.

“And yet somehow it didn’t happen for political reasons: (Israeli prime minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s political calculations to prolong the war and Hamas’ reluctance to accept some of the key ingredients in the deal.”

Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, over the weekend met the Israeli prime minister, who is facing pressure from both incumbent and incoming presidents to reach a deal.

Witkoff and Biden’s Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, who are both currently in the region, have been working together in recent days with mediators to try to resolve some of the last remaining sticking points, CNN reported, citing sources.

“It had a tremendous influence on Israel, so much so that it validates those Netanyahu critics who said that he’s been prolonging the war for months waiting for Mr. Trump to get elected, and once Mr. Trump was elected in November, getting it nearer to the inauguration as possible,” Mr Pinkas added.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar15 January 2025 06:30
3 days ago

In pictures: Smoke smothers Gaza skyline despite ceasefire talks

Photos from the Israeli side of the border lays bare the destruction in Gaza
Photos from the Israeli side of the border lays bare the destruction in Gaza (AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli attacks continue as a ceasefire becomes increasingly close
Israeli attacks continue as a ceasefire becomes increasingly close (AFP via Getty Images)
Smoke plumes rise from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza
Smoke plumes rise from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza (AFP via Getty Images)
Alex Croft15 January 2025 06:01
3 days ago

Israel-Saudi Arabia deal also seen positive progress, says Blinken

The “complex” issues in a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia to formalise diplomatic relations have been addressed, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said.

The deal would include a strategic alliance between Saudi Arabia and the US, along with cooperation in defence and military spheres.

It would also invoice an “energy agreement that includes civil nuclear cooperation and an economic agreement to bolster bilateral trade and investment for both sides,” Blinken said.

But Saudi Arabia wants efforts towards a Palestinian state to be part of the deal - something which Netanyahu’s office previously said it had not agreed to.

Alex Croft15 January 2025 05:00
3 days ago

Israeli minister says he repeatedly prevented ceasefire deal

Israel’s national security minister Ben Gvir claimed he has repeatedly foiled a hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas over the past year as he threatened to quit the Benjamin Netanyahu cabinet over a fresh deal being brokered by the US.

Gvir urged finance minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a ceasefire deal, which he described as a dangerous capitulation to Hamas. “In the last year, using our political power, we managed to prevent this deal from going ahead, time after time,” Gvir wrote on X.

He added: “This move is our only chance to prevent (the deal’s) execution, and prevent Israel’s surrender to Hamas, after more than a year of bloody war, in which more than 400 IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers fell in the Gaza Strip, and to ensure that their deaths are not in vain.”

Smotrich said on Monday that he objects to the deal but did not threaten to leave Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition. A majority of ministers are expected to back the phased ceasefire deal, which details a halt to fighting and the release of hostages.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar15 January 2025 04:30
3 days ago

ICYMI: Biden administration will handover post-war plan to Trump’s team, says Blinken

The Biden administration’s plan for the post-war management of Gaza will be handed over to president-elect Donald Trump’s team, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said today.

It includes details of an interim security mission including international forces and Palestinians, Mr Blinken said.

Laying out the plan in an address at Washington’s Atlantic Council thinktank, Mr Blinken said a reformed Palestinian Authority would lead Gaza under the plan.

International partners would be invited to help establish and run an interim administration in the enclave.

Alex Croft15 January 2025 04:04
3 days ago

Gaza deal declaration on halt due to conflict over fine print

The declaration of the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal was reportedly delayed due to disagreements on the final wording of the agreement.

One of the issues holding up the approval on Hamas’s end was related to the maps detailing the Israeli military’s withdrawal from the Strip as a part of the deal, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Two officials involved in the talks told The Associated Press yesterday that Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages. An Israeli official said progress has been made but the details are being finalised.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar15 January 2025 03:40
3 days ago

Israel strikes kill 17 Palestinians as truce deal talks continue

Israeli airstrikes on homes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 17 Palestinians, health officials in the Hamas-run Strip said.

Earlier strikes in Gaza killed at least 18 people, including two women and four children, according to local health officials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well.

The fresh attacks came as Israel and Hamas appeared to be narrowing in on a ceasefire deal to end the 15-month war and release dozens of hostages.

The deal is “closer than it’s ever been before”, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a speech to Washington-based thinktank Atlantic Council yesterday.

“We await final word from Hamas on its acceptance and until we get that word, will remain on the brink,” Mr Blinken said of the ceasefire deal.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar15 January 2025 03:13
3 days ago

Deal painful but hostages have ‘top priority’, says Germany’s Scholz

Making a deal with Hamas is “painful” but the lives of hostages must take priority, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

“We understand how painful any agreement with the terrorist organisation Hamas is for Israel. Nevertheless, the lives of the hostages must now have top priority,” said Scholz in a statement, adding that it offered the chance of a ceasefire to help alleviate ongoing suffering in Gaza.

Alex Croft15 January 2025 03:00
3 days ago

Watch: Hundreds of Israelis protest against potential peace deal with Hamas

Hundreds of Israelis gathered in Jerusalem on Monday, 13 January, to protest against a potential ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Relatives of hostages, wounded soldiers and reservists came together under the slogan “no mandate to surrender to Hamas“ and called on the government to release the hostages only through victory over Hamas.

Demonstrators marched from near Israel’s parliament towards the Chords Bridge, lit with the blue and white Israeli flag, shouting slogans against humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza, prisoner exchanges or relinquishing conquered territory.

Protester Tamar Gesundheit, 69, said, “Please President Trump, do not pressure us to give into Hamas. Pressure them to give in to us.”

According to state broadcaster Kan, the protest was organised by the Gvura Forum, which represents some of the families of soldiers killed during the war.

Hundreds of Israelis protest against potential peace deal with Hamas

Hundreds of Israelis gathered in Jerusalem on Monday, 13 January, to protest against a potential ceasefire deal with Hamas. Relatives of hostages, wounded soldiers and reservists came together under the slogan “no mandate to surrender to Hamas“ and called on the government to release the hostages only through victory over Hamas. Demonstrators marched from near Israel's parliament towards the Chords Bridge, lit with the blue and white Israeli flag, shouting slogans against humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza, prisoner exchanges or relinquishing conquered territory. Protester Tamar Gesundheit, 69, said, "Please President Trump, do not pressure us to give into Hamas. Pressure them to give in to us." According to state broadcaster Kan, the protest was organised by the Gvura Forum, which represents some of the families of soldiers killed during the war.

Alex Croft15 January 2025 02:03

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